Diamond Heart
by 13en-writes-all
Summary: After escaping from a Talon research facility where he was held hostage, Bruce Silverstone, the son of a former Overwatch soldier makes his way back into the loving arms of the organization. He must learn to deal with his newfound powers and situation, but when he meets Torbjörn's daughter, Brigitte, he starts to feel better. Rated M for violence, language, and later...
1. Freedom

**Part 1 – Freedom at Last**

Talon Base, Location Unknown…

Darkness, almost completely pitch black, chains holding him in a sitting position, a cold, stone floor, no bed, and complete silence.

Years prior, he wouldn't have been treated so horribly, he still remembered the face of his parents who loved him dearly before they were murdered.

He would have been as tall as his father which he got his brown hair from that now hung low at his waist from, the Caucasian/Native American skin he got from his parents was now pale, even by Caucasian standards.

His eyes, the glorious deep blue that he got from his mother were full of exhaustion, the sound of absolute silence was maddening, he might have gotten five hours every week.

He could see inside the cell, being as they would lock him inside for what felt like months, and only let him out when they would force-feed him the leftovers from the base, and force water down his throat.

He could move well, but limited being as Talon had amputated his arms at the elbow and his legs at the knee so he couldn't fight back when they went to proceed with tests.

He could however workout, he knew that he could count on not having heart disease because they didn't feed him enough for him to get fat, and because he measured his heart only needed about 25 beats a minute to sustain himself.

Talon had him locked up in this cell after he had beaten another one of his fellow test subjects in combat, he had yet to meet one that he hadn't beaten.

Programs in hand to hand combat, weapons, and how to fly he was all programmed with. They basically carved a hole into his head and shoved all the information they could while trying their best not to stretch his brain to the limit.

His I.Q. was a top priority, they estimated his I.Q. was somewhere between 160 and 190, without looking he could tell that his cell was about two feet by eight feet and about eight feet high.

He estimated that it had been about seven years since his parent's deaths, he thought he was about twenty because he had a beard, they killed both his parents but left him alive because he had 'perfect genes'.

What did they mean by 'perfect genes', for becoming an assassin, becoming an agent?

He would rather die than work for Talon, he wished that he would be found by his father's organization, Overwatch who according to the stories his father had told him was the greatest collection of heroes ever.

He knew several members, the cyborg ninja Genji had been his best friend, the gorilla Winston was like his uncle, and the Commander, Jack was his Godfather.

The British pilot Tracer was a very beautiful woman, and they were pretty good friends as well.

He didn't have time to think about it any further, he heard the latch on the door turn, and light flooded inwards, burning his eyes.

The Talon goon, Reaper stepped into the room, "It's time for another trial," he said as two Talon agents walked in, picked him up by the collar of the short-sleeve spring suit they had squeezed him into.

They dragged him through the cells, the other test subjects couldn't tell that he was being taken away because they couldn't hear outside their doors.

The area they brought him into was a large arena-like room, as they strapped him down to the table that inserted his robotic arms and legs into the sockets they attached to his knees and elbows when they amputated them, they injected him with a dose of adrenaline, they ran out.

The dose wasn't strong enough to send him into a frenzy, just enough to wake him up enough for the test.

He the table inserted the limbs into the joints, which hurt like hell, the restraints on the table popped open, and he stepped off onto the floor.

"Subject 19, name: Bruce Silverstone," a voice said through the privacy glass overhead, "Subject has been exposed to multiple forms of stimuli over the years. Final testing has been approved before moving onto the final stage."

Bruce hated that voice, he knew they were going to send in someone, and if he wanted to stay alive, he would have to beat that person, and he hated attacking one of his fellow test subjects because they were just as many victims as he was.

Today was different because when the door opened, three Talon soldiers stepped into the room.

"Ok," Bruce said in a raspy voice, "Now you're talking!"

"Terminate the subject," the voice said.

Bruce charged first, his energy suddenly returned now that he was finally going to kill someone wearing a Talon uniform.

The first guard was taken completely by surprise as Bruce rammed into him, throwing him against the wall, and nearly cracking his spine.

The second grabbed Bruce's shoulder and threw him backward only for the third to deliver a kick to Bruce's gut.

Bruce stumbled backward as the second came in, Bruce bent the man's arm back and threw him in the way of his friend who punched him in the face.

Bruce released the guard, deflected the first guard's swing with his elbow, and struck him in the throat with an open palm.

The third recovered from punching his friend to see Bruce jump on him, and unleash a flurry of punches against his skull.

The first and second grabbed Bruce off of him and threw him back only to have him land on his feet.

"This one's tougher than he looks," the third guard said as he stood up, wiping away the blood trickling down the lower half of his face from his nose.

"Now that I get to kill someone from Talon," Bruce said, "I'm more energetic than ever."

"Get him," the third said.

The first and second charged him again, only for Bruce to dodge their punches, fall to his back, and kick them both backward.

The third charged only for Bruce to flip backward, kicking the guard's goggles off his head.

The low light of the arena would be a struggle for anyone to see in, but since Bruce was so accustomed to the darkness, he could easily see in there.

The first came back in with a quick jab, only for Bruce to grab the man's arm, step into the punch, hook his foot behind the back of the agent's, and toss him to the ground before snapping his wrist.

As the guard bent over, screaming, his friend grabbed Bruce around the shoulder and tried to hip-throw him, only for Bruce to drop onto his butt, flip the guard over, and with one kick dislocated his shoulder.

The final guard ran up and threw a kick for Bruce to grab his leg and snap in at the joint with his elbow.

The guard whose wrist he snapped stood up for Bruce to smash his head into the nearest wall until all that was left was the front of the guard's face.

The second guard stood up as Bruce ran back up to him, grab him by the throat, and snap his neck.

The final one saw his friends fall and watched as Bruce walked up to him, blood covering his hands.

The last thing he saw was Bruce sitting on top of him, his fists raining down a flurry of punches on top of his head.

Bruce stood up and screamed at the top of his lungs, his hands soaked in blood, that was before the lights suddenly flashed on.

Bruce shielded his eyes, he wasn't used to that much light so he shielded his eyes.

"You performed excellently," Reaper said as he grabbed Bruce by the arm, and held him very close to his face, "You deserve every bit of the reward we have selected for you."

"I'll never work for Talon," Bruce said as he grabbed Reaper's arm.

"Oh, but you will," Reaper said as he threw Bruce across the room with no effort.

Bruce landed hard against the wall, and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

When he came to, his arms and legs had been kept, but he had been stripped down to a pair of boxers and strapped to a metal table.

Bruce struggled against the restraints as the doctors moved him down a long hallway, "It's no use my friend," one of the doctors said, "These restraints are made of pure tungsten. Unbreakable."

They brought Bruce into a large room that had a large tank filled with water, "Here we are my good man," the second scientist said, "Your destiny awaits."

They inserted small tubes into his artificial limbs, and placed a breathing mask over his mouth, "Don't want you to drown," the primary scientist said as he slapped Bruce on the chest, "Wow, that's hard, it's going to be even harder soon."

The second scientist walked up to him with a clipboard, "Name, Bruce Silverstone," he said, "Designation, Subject 19, son of the late Major John Silverstone and civilian Mary Silverstone. Age: 24," he looked at Bruce and spoke, "You're a young buck aren't you," he then looked back at his clipboard, "Testing for Substance 2-94A, approved."

The scientists hit a button which lowered Bruce into the water, it was very cold, and stung as he was completely submerged, but what he was more surprised at was he was now twenty-four, had it really been nine years since his parent's death?

He didn't have time to think about it as the scientists attacked weird nozzles to his arms and legs, and lowered a glass plate on top of the tank.

It was then that the second scientist took a large syringe that looked like it was mounted to a clear grouting gun, and took a small sample of something from a tank at the head of his tank, what ever was inside the clear syringe was sparkling, translucent, and almost turquoise but was more blue than anything.

He then inserted the needle into the machine the hoses attached to his arms were connected to, and emptied the syringe into the machine before switching it on.

The clear substance went through the hoses, and straight into his artificial limbs, but he could feel them moving further up his body, and it was very painful.

The pain felt like pure ice and fire moving through his veins until they reached his heart before a sudden seething pain started burning underneath the skin of his face.

During the pain in his face, he began thrashing left and right in the tank, but as he was thrashing, he could hear the metal bending, and creaking, whatever they were injecting him with was making him super strong.

There was a sudden 'twang' as the metal gave way underneath Bruce's thrashing, and he began smashing his hands into the glass above him.

One swing caused the glass to spider outwards, which was oddly satisfying to Bruce, another hit nearly broke it, one more hit, and 'SMASH', the glass shattered above his head.

Bruce stood up in the tank, tore the hoses from his arms and legs, and jumped down onto the floor as the scientists started screaming, "ALARM,".

Bruce had never felt so solid but limber at the same time, it was like there was flexible plastic underneath his skin.

The first thing Bruce looked towards was the scientists who made a break for the door only to find it locked.

The first scientist looked back to see Bruce walk up to them with a very murderous look on his face before picking up the nearest scalpel he could find, and trying to stab Bruce.

As soon as the blade impacted with Bruce's skin, it sank about one centimeter before bending like he had just hit a solid stone wall.

Bruce grabbed the scientist by the arm, and as he squeezed, he could feel the bones in the man's arm crunching, and could hear him screaming in pain, "STOP," he yelled, "STOP!"

Bruce picked him up by the collar of his shirt, and flung him across the room before turning to the other scientist, grabbing him around the throat, slamming him against the wall, and lifting him off his feet, "What that you injected me with," he asked.

"Please," the scientist gasped, "You have to understand."

Bruce squeezed tighter, and spoke, "You saw what I did to your friend," he said through gritted teeth, "Imagine what I'll do to you. Now what did you inject me with?"

"It's a new element," he said as he pointed to the tank at the head of the one they had him submerged in, "Fell out of the sky in Tunguska. It's a liquid-based diamond compound."

"A liquid diamond," Bruce asked, "What does it do?"

"The diamond can harden anything it's injected with," the scientist said, "We thought if we injected it into a human it would make them more powerful."

"You succeeded," Bruce said as he walked over to the tank, shoved the scientist's head into the water, and held it under until he stopped thrashing.

Bruce walked over to the tank, and reached into the liquid, the liquid was cool to the touch, but felt almost solid, like partially frozen ice.

He didn't have time to examine it further as three Talon guards burst into the room armed with assault rifles, and opened fire.

The shots sent Bruce flying backwards against the floor, but as the guards walked up to him, Bruce simply stood up, and brushed the bullets out of his skin.

Bruce charged at them, and as he reached the first guard, grabbed him by the throat, lifted him above the ground, and threw him head-first into the concrete floor.

As the other two raised their rifles, Bruce kicked the guard's into his hand, and emptied the magazine in their direction.

He liked the feeling of the rifle in his hand, but he didn't have time, he knew he had spent all the rounds in the rifle, so he gathered up the magazines from the dead troopers, and walked out of the observation room.

As he rounded another corner, one of the Talon soldiers came around the corner with a shotgun only for Bruce to mow him down as soon as he appeared.

He could see the letters on the wall, he knew what his first mission was: save the others.

As he followed the signs, he felt one of the Talon soldiers shoot him in the back with his own rifle, Bruce turned around, and dropped him very quickly.

The entrance to the prison control room was a simple wooden door that splintered as soon as Bruce threw his shoulder into it.

He quickly set the rifle down on the table next to the entrance, and walked up to the guard who tore his sidearm out of his holster only for Bruce to grab it and the guard's hand.

Bruce slowly squeezed on the soldier's hand, virtually crushing it before the soldier let go of the weapon, Bruce put the weapon down on the table, grabbed the soldier around the neck, and slammed him against the wall, "What's the date," he asked.

"October 2nd," the guard gasped.

"What year," Bruce asked.

"2075," the guard said.

"You know where I can find Overwatch," Bruce asked.

"Overwatch," the guard asked, "Overwatch has been disbanded for six years. The Petrus Act made all Overwatch activity illegal. You have nowhere to run buddy."

Bruce couldn't believe what he was hearing, Overwatch, the organization that his father once faithfully served, the organization that had saved the world more times than he could count had been disbanded.

Bruce let the guard fall to the ground before turning toward the door controls, and pressing the _open_ button.

The doors to the cells swung open, and the subjects all ran out, they hadn't had their limbs cut off, but they were slightly malnourished.

But what Bruce saw next shocked him to his core, his reflection in mirror, through the beard and the long hair he saw that the crystal substance they injected him with had altered the appearance of his face.

It looked like his face was sculpted out of stone, his entire face was almost completely geometric shapes, hard angles, and flat surfaces.

He didn't even recognize himself anymore, but as soon as he heard grunting, he turned around to see the soldier coming at him with a ka-bar knife.

Bruce grabbed his hand, flung him against the window, then against the wall, and finally began slamming him head-first into the console until he stopped moving.

As soon as he exited the control room, he saw the other subjects had gotten weapons, and were already tearing into the guards.

Bruce didn't have time to think about that because as soon as he walked through the door, the Talon mastermind Reaper grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the wall, "I knew you had potential," he said, "But now it seems all you are is a pest, and there's only one thing to do with a pest."

"That would be a problem," Bruce said before squeezing down on Reaper's gauntlet which caused him to grunt in pain, "I'm taller."

Bruce grabbed Reaper around the throat, and flung him into the nearest wall.

Bruce reached back into the room to grab the rifle only for Reaper to punch the rifle clean in half.

He then grabbed Bruce, and threw him backwards through the glass of the prison command center.

Bruce stood up as Reaper jumped through the window, the swing he threw Bruce's way was blocked by Bruce's right arm, Bruce stepped into the swing, and brought his elbow hard against the side of Reaper's face.

Reaper stumbled backwards, but as Bruce came in, he blocked the swing, and kicked Bruce backwards against the nearest wall.

Landing against the wall was not fun, but with freedom on his mind, Bruce donkey-kicked Reaper backwards, and ran as fast as he could down the hallway.

"Run if you will," Reaper said, "I will hunt you down."

The exit was a large tunnel that could be flooded if need be, Bruce could already see the others had made it out because he could see the bloody footprints they made as they ran down the tunnel.

Bruce could see the light of day at the end of the tunnel, it was the first time he would have been outside in years, but as he was approaching the end, he could see that he was somewhere very, very cold.

Luckily there was a Talon soldier lying next to the door, Bruce could tell just by looking at him that they were roughly the same size, so he quickly grabbed the soldier's pants, and coat, "I'm really sorry about this," Bruce said as he hugged the coat close to himself, "No hard feelings."

Bruce stepped out into the cold light of day, it was the first time he felt the sun, the smell of fresh air, and he had to admit it, it was beautiful.

 _Guess what happens next_ …


	2. Survival

**Part 2 – Survival**

Bruce walked for several hours before the sun went down to reveal complete darkness, the moon, and the stars out in full let Bruce know exactly where he was.

The position of the big dipper revealed he was somewhere far north, possibly Norway or Sweden. If he was in Norway he had a problem because if it was Norway it would get down into the thirties. If he was in Sweden, then all he needed to do was get to Gothenburg, he knew that Overwatch's resident tech wizard Torbjörn lived there, or at least his family did.

He knew that Torbjörn and his father were good friends and that if he made it, he could count on Torbjörn to get him to Overwatch.

Bruce kept the knife that the Talon agent tried to stab him with, he knew the first thing he had to do was get rid of the long hair.

 _Back at the Talon base_ …

"It's unbelievable," Sombra said as she examined the video.

"The diamonds have integrated well into his systems," Reaper said, "We know that it can be integrated into a human's system."

"So, the plan wasn't to integrate him," Widowmaker asked.

"Mutating Major Silverstone's son was simply phase one," Reaper said, "He had the right genes that allowed the experiment to work properly. But such genes aren't that rare, one in 100000 people born every year carry them. There are 82000 others that carry genes almost as perfect as his."

"Then what was the point of mutating him," Sombra asked, "Why not just grab one of them?"

"We needed to make sure it worked," Reaper said, "Now that we know that Bruce's genes were an exact match, all we have to do is find another."

 _Back with Bruce_ …

The hair came off almost completely at the knife's will, but he knew that if he left a trail, Talon would find him, after quickly binding the hair together with a few threats he pulled off the jacket, he proceeded.

It was rough countryside that he was walking through, the forests were beautiful no doubt, but in the middle of fall, the snow wasn't exactly light on the ground, but it wasn't heavy either.

Being as he only had on a pair of pants, boots, and a jacket, the cold air stung his skin as he walked on.

The survival training that Talon programmed his with still set true in his mind, priority one when surviving in the wilderness is Shelter, but finding a good spot to rest was going to be difficult.

After walking for a while, a felled tree seemed to be the answer for Bruce's problem, stacking a few logs along the sides of the tree near the top would make a good shelter.

Gathering strong enough logs to make a decent shelter was not a fun endeavor, Bruce spent the better part of an hour gathering enough logs, and stacking them against the tree before looking for some foliage to make a bed and tenting for the outside.

When it was done, it looked like a triangular tent made of twigs and branches, not exactly cozy, but it'd do for the night.

Priority number two for Bruce was fire, some dried wood from the forest, and some of the flesh from the pine tree he made his shelter on was all he really needed.

Another priority for Bruce was water, luckily the man who owned the jacket previously was a drinker, and inside the right inner-pocket was an empty hip flask.

Eating snow is a very, very bad idea when trying to survive in snowy winter conditions, snow can be very bad, eating raw snow can cause ulcers and blisters to form inside the mouth, not to mention can bring body temperature down to dangerous levels.

You can get water from snow, the best strategy for getting water from snow is to store the snow in bottle or flask, and thawing it out by storing it near the warmest point of the body, which in the case of a male body is either underneath the armpit or down near the family jewels.

After storing the flask, Bruce walked off to find food, something high in fat, and something with a lot of good meat.

*When in an extreme cold weather survival environment, the trick is to load up on calories such as something with a lot of fat in it.

A nearby stream would serve Bruce well as with the U.N.'s Reforestation Act that was put in place shortly after the Omnic Crisis not only allocated money for planting several billion new trees, but also reintroduced multiple species into untouched wildernesses.

A nearby Beaver mound would serve as Bruce's saving grace, tying together a few strands of hair to a log, and using the cord from the waistline strap on his jacket he quickly improvised a deadfall snare trap.

After setting up his trap, Bruce had to determine his position, a nearby hill would serve as a perfect position to get his bearings.

Climbing up the hill, he could see for miles around, but all he could see was forest, but there were several mountains, and he could see the sun above him, he knew it was early in the morning so the sun was rising.

The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west, on a compass west is to the left, and east is to the right.

If he was in Sweden he needed to head South West, and he knew that the mountain range off the South East was a good landmark, if he walked with the mountain to his left, and the sun over his left shoulder in the morning and in his right peripheral vision, he knew he was heading in the right direction.

After walking back to his shelter, he found that his trap had worked almost perfectly, there was a beaver stuck in the trap, but it hadn't worked that well because the beaver's tail was stuck in the noose.

Bruce pinned the beaver against the ground, dispatched him with a quick knife through the heart, and crossed himself before dipping his fingers in the creature's blood, and drawing two lines on his cheekbones, and two on the corners of his lips, all four diagonally downwards, and one right below his lower lip to the tip of his chin.

In ancient Native American lore, red was supposed to symbolize strength, war, using blood meant that a young warrior had made the transition from boy to man, and was ready to provide for his family.

Walking back to his camp with his catch, the first thing he did was start a fire.

The tail was what Bruce was after, a simple wooden skewer made by sharpening the edge of a stick with his knife stuck in the ground placed over the fire would make an excellent cooking vessel.

Back during the days of the old Mountain Men, the tail of the beaver was a luxury because it's almost one hundred percent pure fat, and if you want to load up on calories which is important in surviving in freezing conditions then the tail of a beaver is what you need.

The rest of the meat would make a great perishable meal, but the fur would be good insolation, if dried right.

After ten minutes, Bruce noticed that the leather on the tail was beginning to peel off, Bruce removed it from the fire, then used the edge of his knife to remove the leather, and then the outer membrane of the tail which is almost solid cartilage.

The fat on the tail was very chewy and tough, but it had almost zero flavor so it was easy to get it down.

The meat on the other hand was very gamey, almost like eating unseasoned venison that had been left in the freezer for three weeks.

Having a filling meal is a good way of keeping moral up when trying to stay alive in freezing cold conditions, so is a good night's sleep.

As soon as Bruce had eaten his fill, the best thing for him to do would be to dry the fur, he cleaned the inside of the fur, but without a tanning rack, he simply skewered the four corners of the skin with four twigs, and stuck them upright in the ground.

Bruce crawled into his makeshift shelter, covered up with his jacket, took a swig of water from the flask, and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

His dream of being back at home, seeing his mother and her long, flowing black hair, those deep blue eyes.

His father's caring attitude towards the family, his thick brown hair which Bruce got from him, the hair that was protecting him from the cold.

He never met his grandparents, they had both passed away during the First Omnic Crisis, but Reinhardt was sort of a grandfather to him, and Ana was more like a grandmother.

Then again, Reinhardt treated his father like a son, and he even asked Bruce to refer to him as, "Grandfather".

When his father was away on missions, Reinhardt would often be the one to take care of him.

The first time Bruce ever played catch was with Reinhardt, it was Reinhardt that had given him his first real lesson in honor, and had taught him how to respect a woman.

His godfather Jack Morrison was the one that taught him how to shoot, he had taken him to his first baseball game, and had even taught him how to hunt.

Torbjörn was a big part of his mother's life as well, his mother had suffered a serious injury during a car accident when she was pregnant with Bruce, and had to have her leg amputated below the knee (don't say life doesn't have a sense of humor).

It was Torbjörn who made her a prosthetic leg that allowed her to function normally, and during the creation of the leg, she and Torbjörn's wife, Ingrid had become very good friends, almost sisters.

Ingrid was very sweet to him when he was a young child, they had done many things together, and was the closest thing he had to an aunt.

While his parents were alive, from age four to age twelve he had traveled almost the whole world, it was how he had become such good friends with Genji and Tracer

The men and women of Overwatch were just as much his family as his mother and father were, and knowing that they were disbanded hurt, as if his family had become separated.

Bruce awoke after a while, he knew that it must have been at least twelve hours since he had fallen asleep because the sun was setting.

When someone is on a serious adrenaline high, as soon as it dies down what sets in is extreme exhaustion, and it often leads to a very, very long sleep.

Bruce crawled out of his little shack to see that the fire he had made was almost buried in the snow.

The fresh snow on the ground gave Bruce an opportunity to refill the flask before gathering up the dried meat, and the skin before continuing on his way.

The skin did make a good insulator tied to the edges of his coat's collar made a passable substitute for a shirt, a very thin shirt at that, but it still helped.

He knew the best way for him to reach civilization was to find a road, and follow it to the nearest town where he could hopefully pick up a ride.

Everyone in Overwatch probably thought he was dead so there would be no hope of him being found by Overwatch, and it would be highly unlikely that they would be searching for him after nine years, if they had bothered searching at all.

If he had some basic components such as a few wires, some pieces of scrap metal, or maybe even a microphone he could jerry-rig a quick radio, and send out a distressed signal.

He knew that by taking a moment to rest, he could go further, and a nearby lake was the perfect place to rest.

He took a seat near the edge of the lake, pulled out the flask, and took a quick drink, not exactly Voss water, but it was still good, and it got even better when right over his head the Northern Lights started dancing over his head.

After washing his face, he sat there, taking a minute to take it all in was more than enough to keep his spirt high enough to keep going.

His hopes were soon answered, he immediately found what he was looking for: a road, and he simply followed it south.

As he was walking, he noticed a semi-truck coming up along the road, simply sticking out his thumb to hitchhike, the truck pulled right up to the side of the road, and stopped.

Bruce ran up to the door, and opened it to reveal an Omnic was driving, "Watch your step there boy," the Omnic said as Bruce entered, and took a seat next to him, "You're lucky I stopped, I haven't been this way for a long time," he held out his hand, "You can call me Reed."

"Bruce," he said as he shook the Omnic's hand.

"Where you heading," Reed asked.

"Where are we," Bruce asked.

"Just some little ways north of Sundsvall, Sweden," Reed said, "But I'm heading to Copenhagen."

"In that case, I'm heading to Gothenburg," Bruce said, "I've got family there."

"No problem," Reed said, "You look tired," he pointed back at the sleeper carriage, "Bed's soft back there."

"Thanks," Bruce said, "I really appreciate it."

"Nothing to worry about," Reed said, "By the way, I noticed your synthetics, they look pretty outdated."

"I haven't had them upgraded yet," Bruce said, "I haven't been near civilization for a while."

"You one of those Mountain Men," Reed asked.

"No," Bruce said, "Just been camping."

Bruce climbed into the bed in the back of the truck, and he could have sworn he had never slept in a more comfortable bed in his life.

 _He's alive, and he's heading for civilization, how should Overwatch react to this news…_


	3. Civilization

**Part 3 – Civilization**

"Hey, hey," Bruce heard and felt someone nudging him.

Bruce shot up, halfway screaming, "Easy, easy," Reed said as he halfway restrained Bruce as he sat up, "You were having a nightmare."

"How long have I been out," Bruce asked.

"About nine hours," Reed said, "We've arrived in Gothenburg."

"We have," Bruce asked as he crawled into the cabin to see that they were in Gothenburg, "Civilization at long last."

"This is where we part ways," Reed said as he held out his hand to Bruce.

"Thank you, Reed," Bruce said as he shook the Omnic's hand, "I will not forget this."

"Think nothing of it," Reed said, "Good luck."

Bruce stepped out of the semi and began walking.

It had been nine years since he had been in Gothenburg, and he had to say that the town hadn't changed that much.

He hoped that one thing hadn't changed, Torbjörn's address.

As soon as he arrived on the street, he took a deep breath as he began the wall down the slopped street toward the house Torbjörn used to live in.

The house looked pretty much the same as it did the last time he saw it, as he climbed the steps, and knocked on the door, he prayed it would be Ingrid that would answer the door, and he got his wish when the door swung open to reveal Ingrid Lindholm.

"Can I help you," Ingrid asked.

"Aunt Ingrid," Bruce said, "It's been too long."

"Only one person has ever called me Aunt Ingrid," she said, "Who are you?"

"It's me, it's Bruce," he said, "Bruce Silverstone."

"That's impossible," Ingrid said, "Bruce Silverstone's been dead for nine years. Good day sir."

As she went to shut the door, Bruce stopped her, "I can prove it," Bruce said.

"Thirty seconds," Ingrid said.

"Alright," Bruce said, "I know you and Torbjörn have three kids."

"A lot of people do," Ingrid said.

"They have eight kids amongst themselves," Bruce said.

"A lot of people do," Ingrid said, "Is there anything else?"

Bruce pondered for a moment before speaking, "Alright then," Bruce said, "What about that secret you kept from Torbjörn since I was twelve?"

"What secret," Ingrid asked.

"Just before my twelfth birthday my dad was sent on a mission with Uncle Jack, Torbjörn, and several other Overwatch agents to the Middle East," Bruce said, "My mother was working with the U.N. in Africa dealing with the outbreak of Swine Flu," Ingrid's face suddenly changed into a slightly more serious face, "I said that for my twelfth birthday that I wanted a puppy, but mom and dad said I couldn't because with the way we travel I couldn't bring it on planes as a pup."

"Ok," Ingrid said, "That's a little strange."

"I'm not finished though," Bruce said, "You could tell I was upset, so when it was my birthday, you took us out to eat lunch at Ludwig's. Do you remember where you took us next?"

"The animal shelter," Ingrid and Bruce said at the same time.

"As we were playing with the dogs you got interested in one," Bruce said, "A small Siberian Husky puppy with white and gray fur. But this one was special, because her eyes were double-colored. Blue on the left, but red on the right. You loved that dog so much you couldn't bear to leave it there. So, you adopted it, but had the adoption papers written in _my_ name, and promised to keep her here as your dog, and my dog."

"Oh my god," Ingrid said as she cupped her face over her mouth.

"You gave me the choice of name over that dog," Bruce said, "And I named her Astrid."

"Bruce," Ingrid said, crying as she ran into him, and hugged him.

"Aunt Ingrid," Bruce said as he hugged her back, tears streaming down his face.

"You're freezing," Ingrid said as she pulled him into the house, "Come in, now."

As she pulled Bruce into the living room, the children him, and stood up, "Grandma, who's this," the youngest asked.

"Go into the other room," Ingrid said as she ushered the kids out of the room, "Go."

The oldest shooed the kids out of the room in time for Ingrid to sit Bruce down in front of the fire.

"Thank you," Bruce said as he went to remove his coat, letting it pool around his waist.

"Your arms," Ingrid said as she grabbed his forearm, "What happened to you?"

"Many things," Bruce said, "Many things."

"Grandma," the middle grandchild said as he walked outside to stand next to Ingrid, "Who is this?"

"You don't recognize me," Bruce asked, "I'm not surprised being as the last time I saw you was when you were a baby," he held out his hand to the child who took it, "It's me, your cousin Bruce."

"Bruce," the oldest asked as she walked up to him, "We thought you were dead."

"Not dead," Bruce said, "Just, missing."

"You look hungry," she said, "Grandma made some Kroppkaka."

"At this point I'll eat anything," Bruce said.

"Maybe you want to shower," Ingrid said, "You don't exactly look clean."

"Thanks," Bruce said, "You have any old clothes I can wear?"

"Yea," Ingrid said as she pointed up the stairs, "You head on up, and I'll leave some on the sink."

Bruce strolled up the stairs to the bathroom, and as he opened the door, he instantly saw that Torbjörn, or Ingrid had changed the tiles in the bathroom from the baby blue they used to have to a simple white tile.

Here removed the pants, the boots, and the trunks, as he stepped into the shower, he pressed on the temperature gauge, and upped the water temperature to seventy-five degrees.

It was the first time he had ever felt the gentle spray of a shower in nine years, it was like a breath of fresh air, and it felt good.

As he was washing himself, Ingrid came in, and placed a few things of clothes on the sink, "These should fit," she said as she looked at him through the shower curtain.

"Aunt Ingrid," Bruce said.

"Yes," Ingrid asked.

"What happened," Bruce asked.

"What do you mean," Ingrid asked.

"With Overwatch," Bruce said, "I have to know."

"I'm not sure I'm the right person to tell you that," Ingrid said, "Torbjörn never told me the whole story."

"Alright," Bruce said, "There is one thing I need you to do."

"What," Ingrid asked.

"Do you have some of Torbjörn's old Overwatch equipment," Bruce asked.

"Down in his workshop," Ingrid said, "What do you need?"

"There should be a small device down there," Bruce said, "Should be circularly shaped, about five inches around, about three inches tall, and have the Overwatch symbol engraved on top."

"I'll see if I can find it," Ingrid said.

"Thanks," Bruce said.

After drying off, he got dressed in some of Torbjörn and Ingrid's oldest son's college clothes, a pair of old jeans, a black tee shirt, and a brown field coat.

Needless to say, combing his hair after nine years wasn't very pleasant, but he managed.

As he walked down the stairs, the sound of the boots he stole made a very heavy sound as he came into view.

"Am I overdressed," Bruce asked.

"You look like Grandpa Reinhardt," the youngest grandson said.

"With brown hair," Bruce asked.

"Yea," he said as Bruce took a seat next to the fire, he then walked up to Ben, and spoke, "Where have you been?"

Bruce sighed heavily, "Lost," he said, "Somewhere I never want to be again."

"I'm glad your back," the child said as he hugged Bruce.

Bruce slowly put his arms around the child, and hugged him back, "I'm glad to be back," he said, "But I can't stay long. I have to find Grandpa Reinhardt."

"I bet mom knows where to look," the oldest granddaughter said.

"Is this what you needed," Ingrid said as she came up the stairs from Torbjörn's workshop in the house's basement carrying a small device.

Bruce took the device from her, and looked at the face before opening it halfway, "Yes," he said as he opened it fully.

"Welcome," Athena's voice said over the device, "How can I help you."

"Codename White Hawk reporting in," Bruce said, "Access code: Nine, Five, Alpha, Two, Charlie, Zero."

Bruce remembered his father's codename and password well, being as he had overheard his father say it multiple times, and had even used it on his father's communicator.

"Access code accepted," Athena said, "Welcome back White Hawk."

"Athena, play the most recent message," Bruce said.

Winston came up on the screen, "Thirty years ago, the Omnics declared war. The nations of the world had no answer, until they called upon a small group of heroes. Overwatch was created to rescue humanity from the Omnic Crisis. We became the greatest champions of peace and progress the world has ever seen! You joined because you had powers and abilities that made you… You joined because you…" Winston pushed his little slideshow off to the side, the emotion on his face was quite heavy, "You already know this. Look: the people decided they were better off without us. They even called us criminals! They tore our family apart. But look around," he started another slideshow of the devastation Earth was experiencing, "Someone has to do something! We have to do something," the slideshow ending, "We can make a difference again. The world needs us now! More than ever! Are you with me?"

As the message ended, Bruce exhaled strongly, "He's right," he said.

"That the world needs Overwatch," Ingrid asked.

"And that they tore our family apart," Bruce said as he stood up, "Maybe it's time our family became whole again," Bruce looked at the device, "There are coordinates attached to this message. Gibraltar, I have to go there."

"Bruce," Ingrid said as she put her hand on his shoulder, "You should consider what you're going to do. If you go after Overwatch, the Petras Act states you will be a criminal."

"I don't care," Bruce said, "Overwatch is the only one that can help me. I have to find them."

Ingrid turned Bruce to face her, "Be very careful then," she said as she hugged him one last time.

"I will," Bruce said as he hugged her back.

Bruce quickly packed a bag with the clothes he stole from Talon, and some spare clothes that Ingrid gave him.

"You should be able to get on a train to Gibraltar no problem," Ingrid said as she handed him a few bills, "Most train stations don't check travelers' passports."

"Being as I don't have a passport, I probably won't need one," Bruce said, "When does the next train to Gibraltar leave?"

"About one hour," the oldest grandson said, "Fair is six hundred euros."

"Thanks," Bruce said as he stuffed the money into his pocket, threw the duffle bag he packed his things in over his shoulder, and hugged Ingrid, then the kids, "Watch after your grandmother."

Bruce walked out the front door of Ingrid's house, and down the street toward before hailing a cab.

Another Omnic was inside the cab, "Where you heading," he asked as Bruce took his seat.

"Göteberg Central," Bruce said, "As fast as you can."

"Right away," the Omnic said as he started driving, "Going away on business?"

"You could say that," Bruce said, "Or you could say I'm going to become a criminal."

Both the Omnic and Bruce chuckled as he turned onto another street, "You're an American aren't you," the Omnic asked.

"Yea," Bruce said, "I haven't been back to America in a while so I probably wouldn't recognize it."

"How long have you been away," the Omnic asked.

"A few years," Bruce said, "I never

The terminal had changed since he had last been there, but not all that much, after purchasing his ticket, he headed straight for the book store (a man's got to have something to do), and afterwards headed straight for his train.

The train would take him from Gothenburg to Berlin where it would take him to Paris, and then off to Madrid where he would get on a train to Gibraltar.

Gibraltar…

"I'm sorry Torbjörn," Reinhardt said as the two friends sat down to eat, "But you knew what you were getting into when you came back to Overwatch."

"I know," Torbjörn said as he sat down, "Ingrid seems pretty angry that I didn't call yesterday. She's not answering any of my calls."

"Excuse me Torbjörn," Athena said over the intercom, "Your wife is calling."

"Ingrid," Torbjörn said as he shot up, "I'll be right back!"

As he ran out, he nearly knocked Brigitte over, "Papa," she exclaimed as she stumbled, but saved her food in time.

"Sorry sweetie," Torbjörn said, "Your mother's calling, I have to get it."

Torbjörn rushed into the call room where the call was waiting for him, "Athena," he said, "Answer."

As Torbjörn sat down, Ingrid came up on the screen, "Torbjörn," she said when she saw her husband.

"Ingrid," Torbjörn said, "I am so sorry about our anniversary, I would have come back but…"

"It's ok," Ingrid said, "I have news."

"What," Torbjörn asked.

"It's Bruce," Ingrid said, "He's alive."

"Bruce," Torbjörn asked, "Silverstone? Our Bruce?"

"He's on his way to you right now," Ingrid said.

"Bruce is alive," Torbjörn said, "We'll be waiting for him."

"He'll need your support," Ingrid said, "He's been through a lot."

"Don't worry dear," Torbjörn said as he stood up, "He'll have plenty when he arrives."

 _Guess what happens next_ …


	4. Overwatch's Arms

**Part 4 – Overwatch's Arms**

Changing trains in Berlin was much tenser than getting on the train in Gothenburg, the train from Berlin to Paris where Bruce finally began to relax as he had his own little compartment.

The book he picked up, _Of War and Sacrifice,_ was a story all about a U.S. Army unit during World War 2 that was sent on a mission to train Chinese Guerillas fighting against the Japanese. It was a shame really because that stage of the war was nearly forgotten.

Bruce remembered when he traveled through China with Uncle Jack, he remembered how well Jack knew Mandarin Chinese, and they even visited some of the places where the biggest battles of the Chinese Theatre of World War 2 took place.

Transitioning to the Gibraltar train in Madrid was a little less relaxing being as he was now in the home stretch, if Talon were to attack, it would most likely happen on this train or as he was on his way to the Watch Point.

The train car Bruce was in was connected to the diner car, before boarding, he entered from the rear of the train, and walked up to the near-front, into his car.

The safest exit would be at the back of the train being as there would be no chance of him getting sucked underneath the magnetic boasters.

The best place to hide would be in the kitchen because the chefs paid no attention to people coming and going.

The possible place for an ambush would be the baggage cart because of the twists and turns.

Sitting in the passenger booth car would be the best because it would limit the amount of human risk if there was a shootout.

It would also mean that the assassins would only have one way to get to him and that he would only have one way to get out.

An attack did come, but not from Talon, from a couple of knife-wielding idiots who wanted to rob the train.

As soon as they went to Bruce's room, the main man held out his knife, "Alright caveman, give us your money," he said.

Bruce kept reading his book, "I barely have any," he said, "And what little I have is going toward my cab ride when we get to Gibraltar."

"What did you say fuck-o," he asked as he walked up to Bruce.

"You heard what I said," Bruce said as he put his book down, and stood up, "And if you know what's good for you, you'll give everyone their money back, and get off this train."

"Who's gonna make me," he asked, "You?"

"Yes," Bruce said as he head-butted the thug right on the bridge of the nose, causing him to fall backward.

The second charged at Bruce who shoved the knife out of the way, slammed the man's head into the wall of his compartment, kneed him in the gut, and immediately wrapped his right arm around the man's neck, and grabbed his right hand with his left, increasing the force.

The man punched, and grappled at Bruce as the blood circulating to his brain through his carotid arteries, everyone in their compartments looked outside to see the men that had just robbed them getting their asses handed to them.

The thug went limp in Bruce's arms after a few seconds in time for his friend to stand up, Bruce let the man fall to the ground, and turned around to catch the thug's fist in his gut.

The thug immediately grabbed his wrist, and screamed in pain, "What is in there," he asked as he knelt over, holding his broken hand.

"Not so tough without your knife right now," Bruce asked before grabbing him around the throat, and pulling him upright to look him in the eyes, "Now let's see how you do against someone who doesn't need one."

Bruce reared back, and knocked him unconscious in one blow, but not before hearing a click from behind him.

Bruce turned around to see someone was holding a T-86 crossbow to his head, "Don't make me use this," he said.

"You could," Bruce said, "If it was loaded."

"What do you mean loaded," he asked.

"That's a T-86 advanced stealth crossbow," Bruce said, "You have to push the little yellow button to load it. If it's lit up it's not loaded."

The thug turned the weapon slightly to the right, which gave Bruce the opportunity, he shoved the weapon to the side, bunted the man on the throat with the bottom of his fist, and stole the weapon.

"You son of a bitch," he said as he knelt over, holding his throat.

"Nice weapon," Bruce said as he hit the yellow button which caused the weapon to emit a high pitched whirl, "Carbon-fiber chassis, titanium-tipped bolts, seven pound trigger pull," he aimed at the thug, and pulled the trigger, sending the arrow into his foot, "Sights are off by about one centimeter."

"Centimeter," the thug asked as he tried to pull the arrow through his boot, "What were you aiming for?"

"The area between your second and middle toe," Bruce said, "I hit the area between your middle and forth," he then raised the crossbow, "This thing is junk," Bruce then snapped the weapon in two over his knee.

"Who are you," the thug asked.

"My name is Bruce," Bruce said as he spun around, and kicked the thug on the side of the head, sending him to the floor, completely unconscious, Bruce looked up at the passengers who were looking out of their cabins, "You want your money back," he pointed at the floor where the wallets had been dropped, "Take it."

Bruce walked back to his compartment, picked up his book, and continued reading.

A young boy, maybe about eight or nine peaked in around the corner into his compartment, he had blonde hair and blue eyes and was very interested in what just happened.

"Can I help you," Bruce asked as he continued reading.

"Are you a member of Overwatch," he asked.

"No," Bruce said as he turned the page on his book, "But I was raised by Overwatch."

"You were," he asked, "How?"

"My father was a member," Bruce said as he pointed to the seat across from him, "What's your name, son?"

"Timmy," he said as he sat down, and a boy about thirteen, fourteen joined them, "This is my brother, Brian."

"Your father was an Overwatch agent," Brian asked as he sat next to Timmy.

"You ever heard of an Overwatch agent named White Hawk," Bruce asked.

"Yes," Timmy said, "He was a sniper with the U.S. Marine Corps before being hired by Overwatch as a Marksman."

"They say he wore buffalo hide and carried a tomahawk," Brian said, "Some kind of tribute to his ancestors?"

"To his wife," Bruce said, "My mother."

"The Overwatch museum did say he had a son," Timmy said, "That he went missing when his parents were killed."

"Not missing," Bruce said, "Kidnapped."

"By Reaper," Timmy asked.

Bruce closed the book, and placed it next to him, "You know about him," he asked.

"He and Widowmaker nearly killed us," Brian said, "We were at the Overwatch Museum in Numbani when he attacked."

"Brian managed to get a good shot at Widowmaker with Doomfist's gauntlet," Timmy said.

"Good boy," Bruce said, "What are you boys doing on this train anyway?"

"We're on our way to meet our mother," Brian said, "She's waiting for us in Alexandria."

"So, from here, you boys get on the train to Rabat in Morocco," Bruce said, "Then on the over-land train to Alexandria?"

"Yes," Brian said, "What about you?"

"I'm going to find Overwatch," Bruce said as the train came to a stop, and he picked up his stuff, "Well boys, this is where we part ways."

Bruce and the boys left the train, he gave them one final salute, and left the station.

The Rock of Gibraltar being a major tourist attraction had roads leading up onto the top of the mountain, walking up the mountain was no problem, the biggest thing though was crossing the face of the mountain to reach the Watchpoint.

Bruce stood on the edge of the cliff, and saw the Watchpoint off in the distance, he had to traverse the cliff.

One of the things that Talon had taught him was free-climbing, and he needed it now.

Scaling the side of the mountain, Bruce found a good foothold, and leapt onto the cliff.

The first few yards were easy, but the next few didn't give him much room to breathe being as it was jagged and the areas he had to grab onto were thin.

 _Inside the Watchpoint_ …

"You know that I want to believe this more than anyone," Genji said as he sat on the edge of one of the command center's consoles, "But after nine years is it really going to be the Bruce that we knew and loved?"

"We don't know what's happened to him after all these years," Tracer said, "But regardless if he's changed or not, it's still Bruce."

"I agree with Tracer," Reinhardt said as he walked over to her, "It's Bruce, he's family."

"He'll need our support," Mercy said, "We can't just…"

It was then that Athena came online, "We have a situation," she said.

"What," Winston asked as he turned towards his computer.

"We have an unidentified human male scaling the wall heading for us," Athena said as she pulled up one of the cameras on the outside of the mountain.

The camera showed a human male climbing the side of the mountain towards the Watchpoint, "Athena," Winston said, "Can you give us audio?"

"Certainly," Athena said.

"Almost there," the male said, "So close, so close."

"I know that voice," Genji said, "Athena, playback."

"Almost there," the recording repeated, "So close, so close."

"That's Bruce," Reinhardt said, "A little hoarse, but Bruce."

"Come on," Tracer said as she blinked out of the room, "Let's go."

The team rushed out of the command center, and outside to the edge of the training ground to see Bruce scaling the cliff face towards them.

"Bruce," Reinhardt asked in a calling voice, "BRUCE!?"

Bruce heard that, and turned to see the Overwatch agents he knew and loved waiting for them.

As he raised his hand to wave at them, though, the rock his right hand was holding onto gave way, and he would have fallen if not for him grabbing hold of another.

"Oh shit," Torbjörn cursed, "He'll fall."

"No, he won't," Winston said as he pushed his chest armor upwards, and jumped out onto the face of the cliff.

"Go Winston," Tracer cheered, "Go get him."

Bruce reached for another rock, but as he grasped at it, the rock gave way underneath his hand.

He could feel the rock he was clinging to for dear-life giving way, and as he tried to get a strong hand-hold, he could feel the rocking levering out of position.

He closed his eyes, but as he felt the rock give way, he didn't feel himself falling, he felt an oversized hand catch his arm.

He looked up, and saw Overwatch's resident gorilla had caught him, "Winston," he said with a relieved sigh.

"Long time no see buddy," Winston said.

"Indeed, Monkey Boy," Bruce said.

"Yep," Winston said as he began climbing back toward the Watchpoint, "It's you all right."

After several minutes, Winston made one final bound, and the two of them landed on the outer-most platform of the Overwatch training grounds.

Winston landed on his feet, exhausted, but happy, Bruce landed on his knees, and sat upright as Tracer blinked right in front of him, grasping his head in her hands, and looked him square in the eyes, "Bruce," she asked.

"Hey there sis," Bruce said as he put a hand on her shoulder, and drew a line across her collar bones, and grasped her other shoulder, "Remember that?"

"Bruce," Tracer said with tears fogging up the inside of her goggles, and threw herself against Bruce's chest in a bone-crushing hug.

Finally, back in Overwatch's loving arms, Bruce gave into his emotions, and sobbed in Tracer's embrace, his eyes letting out almost twice as much water as Tracer's as the rest of Overwatch ran over to their returned family member.

 _He's back, what should happen next…_


	5. Home at Last

**Part 5 – Diamond's Home**

After the little reunion, Mercy and Mei wanted to give Bruce a complete physical.

"Alright," she said as she and Bruce walked into her med bay, "Take off your coat."

"Get ready to be shocked," Bruce said as he let the coat fall to the ground.

"Oh, good shit," Mercy said as she saw Bruce's now-synthetic arms, and walked over to examine them, "What have they done to you?"

"That's not the ending," Bruce said as he removed his boots to reveal the synthetic legs.

"How much have they done," Mei asked.

"So much more," Bruce said as he gestured at his face, "You'll be even more shocked when we shave this off."

"Ok," Mercy said as she gestured toward the table, "Let's take a look, take off your shirt," Bruce removed his shirt, and as he did, Mercy's mouth nearly fell off, "How many times did they force you to lift weights?"

"They forced me to do a lot of things," Bruce said as he sat down, "But you can't really lift weights when you don't have arms or legs."

"I'm sorry," Mercy said as she walked over to Bruce, "I didn't mean to."

"No," Bruce said as he reached out, and grabbed Mercy's hand, "It's fine. Right now, I'm just happy to be home."

"Ok," Mercy said as she began, taking out her stethoscope, and placing it against Bruce's back, "Inhale please," as Bruce inhaled, she could tell that had done something, his lungs sounded stronger, almost solid, "And out."

Outside, everyone was just in shock at what they were watching, "Why is everyone so emotional about Bruce coming back," Brigitte asked as she walked up next to Winston.

"The question is why you aren't," Winston asked, "He's Overwatch's lost lamb. Bruce's father is, or rather was an agent who went by the codename, White Hawk. His mother was a highly capable doctor with the U.N. They were both gone with work three hundred days out of the year so we each had a hand in raising him. Your mother and his were like sisters, you spent a lot of time with him, you should be as emotional as us."

"We were never really close," Brigitte asked, "Why is my godfather the most emotional of all?"

"Reinhardt spent almost as much time raising Bruce as he did you," Winston said, "Reinhardt as you know never had any children. Bruce's father and Reinhardt were very close back during the Omnic Crisis and became like a father to him. He even had Bruce refer to Reinhardt as 'Grandfather'."

"You all care about him don't you," Brigitte asked.

"He's like family to most of us," Winston said, "When he disappeared, Commander Morrison took it harder than anyone. He was Bruce's godfather, and more than anyone thought Bruce felt like a son. He spent every day until he was killed in Zurich searching for him."

Back inside the med-bay, Mercy went to extract some blood, but didn't know where to go, "Might I make a suggestion," Bruce asked.

Mercy gave Bruce the go-ahead and pressed a small button on the bottom of his forearm, and grunted in pain as the arm detached itself from the socket, and popped out.

Setting the arm down next to him, he pointed at the smaller sockets on the arm, "How do you know to use this," she asked.

"It's how they extracted blood from me in the past," Bruce said.

Mercy pulled out a simple medical vial that hospital technicians use to extract blood when they put the I.V. in a person's arm and inserted it into one of the small sockets which filled the vial up in about five seconds.

Mei picked up the synthetic arm, "Defiantly Talon," she said as she examined the fingers, "Surprised they didn't leave them off."

"They needed them for their experiments," Bruce said, "They couldn't work without them."

"What kind of experiments," Mercy asked as she did a quick test on the blood sample.

"You have a disposable scalpel," Bruce asked.

"Right here," Mei said as she held out the scalpel, "Why…"

Bruce took the scalpel from Mei's hand, and held it right above his knee, "Watch this," he said as he stabbed the scalpel into his leg which bent upon contact with his muscle.

As soon as he removed it, the scalpel looked like a bent banana, "There you go," he said as he handed the scalpel back to Mei.

"That's a little crazy," Mei said, "They injected you with something to harden your body, didn't they?"

"It's in there," Bruce said as he placed his hand over his heart, "I felt it as he wormed its way through my veins."

"I think we should do a diagnostic on this," Mei said as she held up the arms.

"If it means I don't have to use Talon's equipment I'll gladly go without arms and legs for a while," Bruce said.

"You do look like you could use some sleep," Mercy said as she readied a vial of Propofol, and readied to inject it into Bruce's arm, "When you wake up, you'll be in a different room."

Bruce laid back on the medical bed, "I haven't had a decent night's sleep in years," he said, "Give it to me."

"Have a good nap," Mercy said as she inserted the vial into the port opposite from the one she drew blood from.

In various limbs such as the arms and legs you have two different kinds of veins, the vein that carries blood from the heart, and the vein that carries the blood back to the heart, luckily there is a vein in every major limb that circulates that blood back and forth without the need for the rest of the limb so when they amputated Bruce's arm they didn't worry about the ascending and descending veins.

Bruce's eyes grew heavy, and he suddenly felt like all his energy was being sucked out of him.

"Rest easy," Mercy said as she put her hand on his forehead, "Your home, you're safe now."

Bruce was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes when he was finished, Mei removed his artificial legs while Mercy removed the remaining arm.

"Amputated below the knee and elbow," Mei said, "They wanted to make sure he didn't try to escape."

Mercy walked over to the computer as the DNA came back, after taking down the results she went to check him for additional injuries.

It took about one hour for her to finish before walking out of the med-bay where everyone was waiting.

"Well," Winston asked.

"They've done a number on him," Mercy said as Mei wheeled the artificial limbs out of the room on a trolley, "They replaced his arms and legs with artificial limbs so he wouldn't fight back. I've also detected subdermal scaring underneath almost every last area of skin," she then pulled out a small vial filled with some sort of clear liquid, "And I found this."

Winston took the vial from Mercy's hand, and looked at it as closely as he could, "What kind of substance is this," he asked.

"I don't know," Mercy said, "But whatever it is, his veins are full of it, and it has a molecular structure I've never seen before."

"What type," Genji asked as Winston passed him the vial.

"The molecular structure is similar to that of diamonds," Mercy said, "But the physical structure is liquid."

"Liquid diamonds," Torbjörn said as Genji passed him the vial, "I've heard of such things, but I was aware that they were only rumors."

"Not rumors," Mercy said, "Not anymore."

"It's in his bloodstream," Reinhardt asked.

"Everywhere in his bloodstream," Mercy said, "And apparently it's hardened everything in his body."

"Hardened," Genji asked, "In what way?"

By the time Mei had walked back, she heard Genji's question and held out the scalpel Bruce stabbed his leg with, "There's your answer," she said.

Genji took the scalpel and knew if he wasn't wearing his faceplate a fly would have flown into his open mouth.

"He stabbed that straight into his knee, and that happened," Mercy said, "I did a few x-rays, and his bones, his muscles, his veins, they've all hardened to almost diamond-like strength."

"I've never seen someone treated so harshly," Tracer said, "Give it to us straight."

"DNA confirms it's Bruce," Mercy said, "But after everything he's been through, it's hard to say if he's back."

"But let's not forget the last time we thought someone was back," McCree said, "And might I remind everyone that she's still working for Talon."

"We couldn't save Amélie," Tracer said, "But we all raised Bruce, and after Amélie, we all know the signs of Talon's brainwashing."

"Tracer's right," Reinhardt said, "We can't give up on him, and even if he is brainwashed we now have the technology to undo everything Talon did to him."

"We will need someone to watch over him," Winston said.

"I'll do it," Reinhardt said, "He's my grandson."

"While it's good of you to volunteer Reinhardt, you're too close to him," Winston said as he put his hand on his shoulder, "We need a neutral observer. Someone who can look at the situation objectively, and judge him from an outsider's perspective."

Everyone's eyes then fell on Brigitte, "If there's no one else," she said, "I'd be happy to volunteer."

"We should move him first," Tracer said, "A hospital bed is no place to wake up in."

"That we can agree on," Brigitte said as she placed her hand on Reinhardt's shoulder, "That's your job Godfather."

"Alright," Reinhardt said as he walked into the med-bay to see the man he considered his grandson lying on a hospital bed without any way to move, as Reinhardt picked him up he exhaled, "Wow, he's been working out."

"The muscles weren't a clue," Brigitte asked as they walked out of the med-bay toward the living quarters.

 _Tech Lab_ …

"These limbs," Winston said as he observed one of the disassembled Talon arms that they gave Bruce, "These are remarkably similar to a human's. Veins, artificial muscles, joints, it's like they built these specifically for a human."

"They did," Mercy said as she held up a small piece of the forearm that the needle they injected the liquid diamonds into him went, "I've detected traces of that liquid diamond in Bruce's bloodstream all around the edges of this specific port."

"And I think I know how they attached it to him," Mei said as she picked up the connecting end of the forearm, and pointed to four prongs on the end, "The two outer prongs open up to connect to the veins, and the two inner prongs connect to the bones. If my theory is right then the process is very painful."

"Can we synthesize a new set of arms and legs for him," Winston asked.

"It'll be hard to replicate this," Mercy said as she gestured toward the pieces on the table, "But… using the designs I created for Genji I should have something in about… three days."

"How long will he be out," Winston asked.

"With the amount I've given him, and the lack of sleep he's had I'd say maybe a whole day, possibly twenty-four hours," Mercy said, "Either way when he wakes up he's going to need a shave."

"That's a given," Mei said, "The last thing we need here is another beard."

The room they moved Bruce into was empty, but clean, and it was very easy to find him a pillow and a blanket for him.

Needless to say, it was nowhere near the room he had when he was living with his parents, but it would do.

As the team walked out of the room Tracer put her hand on Reinhardt's shoulder, "You know he's going to be fine," she said.

"He's been held captive by Talon for nine years," Reinhardt said, "Whether he's going to be ok or not all depends on what they've been doing to him all this time."

"He's a Silverstone," Tracer said, "If he's like his father he can survive anything."

"Survive anything," Reinhardt said, "Except a gunshot to the chest from close range."

"You think he saw his parents' killer," Tracer asked.

"It's very possible," Reinhardt said, "Very possible."

 _Take a guess what'll happen when Bruce wakes up_ …


	6. Diamond's Birth

**Part 6 – Diamond's Birth**

The dream Bruce had was one that kept running over and over in his head ever since his parent's death.

Bruce knelt there in his living room, his parents lying dead in a pool of their own blood, "You could have saved us, Bruce," his father's cold, gray corpse said, "You let us die."

"No," Bruce said as he raised his blood-soaked hands to his head, "That's not true! I did everything I could!"

"You didn't do enough," Bruce's mother said, "You could have done so much more. Now look at what you've become," he saw his reflection in the pool of blood in his cupped hands which transitioned to the synthetic Talon hands, the beard, the long hair, and the geometric face.

His appearance in the blood burned his mind as he watched it, "I've become what they've made me, mother," Bruce said, "I did all I could!"

"Did you," his mother asked, "Did you do enough?"

It was then that _he_ entered, Bruce never saw his face, but he knew if he did, it would still be with him.

Black Vietnam-style Jungle boots, black jeans, a black leather belt with red metal compartments, red mid-forearm gloves strapped with arm-mounted grenade launchers, a red Kevlar vest with six hand grenades strapped to it, and a black mask with a red mouth-guard.

"Your parents are dead," he said as he drew the custom-engraved .357 Desert Eagle, and raised it to Bruce's face.

The flash from the end of the barrel sent Bruce shooting upright in his bed, and shouted, "NO!"

He sat up so fast that he nearly bumped his head on the ceiling, "Now, now," Athena said as she appeared on the screen next to the bed, "It's just a dream, Bruce. Your heart rate is through the roof."

"Now's not the time for that Athena," Bruce exclaimed.

"Of course," Athena said, "I'm surprised that you slept as long as you did."

"How long _have_ I been asleep," Bruce asked.

"You have slept for twenty-two hours, seventeen minutes, and nine seconds," Athena said, "Reinhardt told me to alert him as soon as you woke up. Would you like me to carry out that order?"

"Yes," Bruce said as he sat back against the wall of the bed, "I'd like that."

After ten minutes of waiting, the door opened to reveal Reinhardt carrying a tray of food, and something else, "I thought you might be hungry," he said as he pulled a chair up next to Bruce.

"Thank you, grandfather," Bruce said, "Do you have a way for me to eat it?"

"Mercy made a simple set of prosthetics," Reinhardt said as he held up the clear synthetic arm, "She fine turned it as much as she could."

Bruce held out his arm, and Reinhardt quickly inserted it into the socket in his arm.

The sockets Mercy installed fit perfectly into the holes Talon had installed, it didn't have much strength, but it would do, and the second one went in just as easy.

"Your favorite," Reinhardt said as he placed the tray on Bruce's lap.

"Meatloaf, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and corn," Bruce said before taking his first bite.

"I pass," Reinhardt asked.

"After the scraps of food they've been feeding me, this is like a five-star meal," Bruce said, "Anything'll taste wonderful now."

"I'm sorry I didn't find you," Reinhardt said as he put his hand on Bruce's shoulder, "Every grandfather should want what's best for their grandchild."

"I'm here now," Bruce said as he crossed Reinhardt's arm with his, putting his hand on his shoulder, "And I'm ready to get to work."

"You're not working yet," Reinhardt said, "Mercy is currently working on a set of prosthetic limbs for you until then any hard work will have to wait."

"Speaking about hard work," Bruce said as he brushed his hand over the thick beard and hair on his head and face, "Don't suppose you can teach me how to shave?"

"Eat up," Reinhardt said, "And we'll start."

After eating, Reinhardt brought a wheelchair into the room which he helped Bruce get into, and they moved out of the room.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Genji said as he walked up to them, "How you feeling."

"Rested," Bruce said as he held out his fist.

Genji grabbed Bruce's fist, he then held out his own which Bruce grabbed, then an underhanded, then overhanded clap, and one final fist-bump.

"We're going for a shave," Reinhardt said, "Lend us your knife?"

Genji, Bruce, and Reinhardt broke out laughing as they entered the bathroom where an electric razor was waiting for them.

"Now," Reinhardt said as he handed Bruce the razor, "The type of trimming strength depends on what kind of shave you want."

"I think I want to go with a clean face right now," Bruce said.

"In that case," Reinhardt said, "I think all you'll need is the razor," he handed the razor to Bruce who began working on the beard.

As he was bringing the razor across his cheek, what he had found out back in the Talon base was confirmed, the liquid diamond had rearranged the structure of his face.

It was if Talon had sliced his face open, and stuffed pieces of carved rock underneath his skin.

When he had shaved it off, he hardly recognized himself, his face looked like a folded paper mask.

As he touched his cheek, it was still like skin, but he could feel the hard, geometric bone structure underneath the skin.

Reinhardt and Genji were just as shocked, nearly falling on their butts when they saw Bruce, but instead sat back against opposite walls of the bathroom.

Bruce pushed himself out of the wheelchair and sat down against the wall the sink he was shaving over was mounted to.

"What did they do to you," Reinhardt asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was the diamond," Bruce said, "As soon as it wormed its way through my bloodstream, I felt it in my face."

"They turned you into a human geode," Genji said.

"Yea," Bruce said, "I don't even know if I should call myself Bruce anymore."

"Of course you can," Reinhardt said as he turned toward Bruce, "Regardless if you look different you're still the grandson I love."

Genji then walked over to sit next to Bruce, "And you're still my friend," he said, "I couldn't love you anymore if you were my own brother."

"Thanks, guys," Bruce said, "You're the best."

"We wouldn't be a good family if we didn't," Genji said, "When you went missing, we were distraught."

"I know," Bruce said, "Uncle Jack must have taken it worse."

"He did," Reinhardt said, "I assume you know."

"That he's dead," Bruce asked, "When I didn't see him I gathered as much."

"We couldn't find his remains in Zurich," Genji said, "The second the base was destroyed by Talon, we all went into hiding."

"Must have been hard," Bruce said, "Did they receive a proper burial?"

"Commanders Morrison and Reyes," Reinhardt asked, "We were speakers at their funeral."

"Not them, but thanks," Bruce said, "I was talking about my parents."

"They were as well," Reinhardt said, "Your father was given a tombstone at Arlington, but they're both buried in Chicago."

"That's good," Bruce said, "What happened to dad's equipment?"

"His tomahawk is in the Overwatch museum in Numbani," Reinhardt said, "His shield, however."

"You have it," Bruce asked.

"We do," Genji said, "We've been saving it as a memorial to him."

Bruce looked at them, "I want in," he said.

Reinhardt and Genji looked at Bruce, "You want to join us," Genji asked, "No offense Bruce, but that's possibly the single craziest thing I've ever heard you say. You're willing to risk your life for a chance at revenge for this?"

"I've spent the last nine years being tortured and experiment on by a terrorist organization that killed my parents," Bruce said, "Terrorists that were once aligned with one of the most destructive forces this world has ever known! Terrorists that have kidnapped and killed people, including my parents, and my Godfather! This isn't revenge guys, it's justice."

"So we get White Hawk back," Reinhardt asked.

"No," Bruce said, "White Hawk is my father's title. In order to truly fight for Overwatch, I need to become someone other than my father. I need to adopt a new personality. A new hero must be born."

"You always said you wanted to be a knight," Reinhardt said, "I could always use another apprentice."

Reinhardt sat back as Bruce smiled at him, and he couldn't help but think about the day Bruce was born. It was just by luck that he and the other members of Overwatch were in Chicago that day.

 _Flashback_ …

Five years following the Omnic Crisis…

The plane just touched down somewhere south of Gary, Indiana, and Commanders Morrison, Reyes, Lieutenant Reinhardt, Torbjörn, and Ana stepped off the plane followed by First Lieutenant John Silverstone.

"Amazing shot you pulled off," Torbjörn said as he gave John a pat on the shoulder with his artificial arm, "Five hundred and fifty-foot headshot with a simple automatic rifle. I never thought it could be done."

"I wouldn't too much about it boss," John said as they walked into the main hanger to offload his gear, and get back to his pregnant wife, the baby wasn't due for another week or so.

"Lieutenant," one of the soldiers said as he walked up to John, and held out a phone, "There was a phone call for you a few minutes ago."

"Thanks," John said as he took the phone, "Dismissed," he opened the phone to reveal it was from his wife's best friend.

As he called her back, Erica Smith answered, "Johnathan," she asked.

"Yes," John said, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is we need you at the hospital now," Erica said, "Mary just went into labor!"

"WHAT," John asked, halfway yelling.

Everyone turned to look at him, "She's in the hospital now," Erica said, "She's been calling out for you."

"I'll be right down," John said as he tossed his rifle and pistol onto the table, and hung up his phone.

"Wait, John what is it," Jack asked as he and everyone else chased after him.

"Mary just went into labor," John said.

"You're serious," Gabe asked as he ran up to John's side, "You're gonna be a dad man!"

"I have to get to Chicago Central," John said as they ran outside where a black SUV was waiting for them.

"We'll go with you," Reinhardt said as he opened the back door to the SUV, and jumped in.

"I'd like to have family there," John said as he jumped in.

The drive from Gary to Chicago is something that John wasn't expecting to do on the day his child was born.

Both him and Mary wanted the gender of their child to be a surprise so they both asked the doctors to keep the gender a secret from everyone.

Needless to say, though, the site of Overwatch Agents dressed in full combat gear running into Chicago Central Memorial Hospital was a little disconcerting.

"Excuse me," John said as he ran up to the information counter.

"Should I be concerned," the receptionist asked.

"No," John said, "My wife is here, Mary Silverstone. Where is she?"

The receptionist checked the log, "Ah yes," she said, "She's in the Maternity Ward, room 415."

John and the entire team ran through the hospital to the Maternity Ward where they found Erica waiting outside Mary's room.

"John," Erica said as she turned toward the team running toward her.

"How is she," John asked as he stopped in front of her.

"She's fine," Erica said, "But they ran into a problem."

"Problem," John asked as he grabbed her arms, "What problem?"

"Nothing serious," Erica said as she put her hands on John's shoulders, "The baby's grown a little bit since the last ultrasound. There's no chance that Mary can perform a natural birth so they're going to have to perform a C-section to deliver the baby."

"Anything else," John asked.

"No," Erica said as she ushered toward the door, "She's waiting for you."

"Alright," John said as he turned toward the team, "Go to the waiting room down the hall. I'll be down when they're done."

"Ok," Jack said as he put his hand on John's shoulder, "Don't worry, you're going to be a great dad."

"Thanks," John said as he slapped his CO on the back.

John entered his wife's room, and the team went back to the waiting room. It would take a while for the baby to be delivered, but when they did they'd welcome the child with open arms.

"John," Mary said as she stretched her arms out toward her husband who ran up to her.

"I'm here," John said as he hugged his wife, "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok," Mary said, "The baby's fine too."

"Alright," the doctor said, "We'll begin the operation if you're ready."

(Due to censorship, and for the mental help of most of you the details of a C-section will not be mentioned in this story)

Within thirteen minutes, the cries of the baby were like music to John and Mary's ears.

"It's a boy," the midwife said.

"It's a boy," John said to his wife as he kissed her.

After washing the baby off, they handed him to Mary, "Hello there my sweet boy," she said as she kissed her sleeping baby on the forehead, then looked at John, "What should we call him?"

"How about Bruce," John asked, "Bruce Wilhelmine Silverstone."

"I like it," Mary said before ushering him out of the room, "Go tell the others."

John left the room, and walked down to the waiting room where everyone looked up to John walking in and saying, "It's a boy."

Everyone clapped and walked up to John to embrace him, "What's his name," Ana asked as they pulled apart.

"We're gonna name him Bruce Wilhelmine Silverstone," John said.

"Wilhelmine," Reinhardt said, "You make an old man blush."

"Do you guys want to meet him," John asked.

"Let's go," Jack said.

As the team entered the room, Mary was lying on the bed, holding baby Bruce.

"Hello there," Jack said as they entered.

"He's beautiful," Ana said as she walked up next to Bruce.

"And healthy," Mary said, "Eight pounds, nine ounces."

"He's going to be a vibrant man," Gabe said as he put his hand on Mary's shoulder.

"He has a lot of role models," Mary said as she held Bruce out towards Jack, "Meet your Godson Jack."

Jack pulled Bruce into his arms, and John could have sworn he saw a tear in his CO's eye, "Hello there Bruce," Jack said, "Welcome to our family."

He then passed Bruce to Reinhardt, and while not in his upper-body arm, Reinhardt's hand was almost half the size of Bruce himself.

"Say hi to your grandson, Reinhardt," John said as he put his hand on Reinhardt's shoulder.

"Hello there _wenig ein_ ," Reinhardt said, "I know you might not know me yet, but I'm your grandfather, and I promise you this: I will be there for you."

"He's hard as hell on the outside," Ana said as she walked up to Reinhardt, "But soft and gooey on the inside."

Reinhardt looked at Ana and chuckled before handing the Bruce off to her.

 _How was that chapter…_

Translation:

Weing ein – little one


	7. Diamond's Training

**Part 7 – The Diamond Knight**

It was a huge shock to everyone when they saw Bruce's face, and it would only grow more as Mercy finished his new artificial arms and legs.

Mercy took some time to examine his face, his skin was smooth like regular skin, but the structure of his face was almost completely solid.

An X-ray would reveal that the bone structure in his face was almost completely same, save for a few cracks from the intense training Talon forced on him.

After a few more tests in which Mercy used a specially customized needle with a point that was as wide as a single atom to take samples from his skin, she came to one conclusion: it was his muscle fibers that had altered the geometry of his face, not the bone structure.

"These are your new limbs," Mercy said as she revealed a pair of arms and legs to replace the Talon limbs.

The arms had special padding on the arms that would mimic the same kind of muscle tissue that a normal human would have in their arms. The hands were covered with a special type of grey alloy that he assumed was tungsten, maybe titanium.

The legs were relatively the same, save for the hydraulic actuators that were covered in a flexible plastic that would mimic the Achilles tendon.

The alloy that would be supporting the limbs was some kind of carbon-fiber and high-carbon metal combination. The muscles were some kind of artificial construct based on a water bladder that would allow Bruce to lift the amount of weight he could with the Talon limbs.

"We tested them as best we could, and we think they're going to work just fine," Mei said.

"Then let's get them strapped on," Bruce said as he removed the arms that Mercy had set him up with.

"Ok," Mercy said as she and Mei each picked up a limb, and as they attached them, there was a very subtle hissing sound.

After attaching the legs, Bruce flexed his fingers, they had a very different feel than the Talon limbs, and it seems Mercy had slipped some artificial feelers underneath the pads on his fingers.

"How do they feel," Mei asked.

"Different," Bruce said, "Just… different."

"I'll consider that a step in the right direction," Mercy said before putting her hand on Bruce's shoulder, "Now, let's get you up."

Mei and Mercy both helped as Bruce stood on his new feet, it still felt natural as he cracked his neck, "How's your motion," Reinhardt asked.

Bruce rotated his arms, and took a few light jumps, "Pretty damn good," he said.

"That's good," Reinhardt said, "You ready for your first piece of work?"

"Work," Mercy asked.

"I've decided to take Bruce on as an apprentice," Reinhardt said as he led Bruce out of the room.

The area Reinhardt led Bruce too was in a small corner of the training grounds where a wooden training sword, and his father's shield.

The shield was in the traditional heater-style, save for the rounded top, was almost solid metal save for the three openings near the top, and the channels that ran down the sides of the shield, and then across the sides.

The shield itself was metal, and but had a metal buffalo on the crest.

The grips on the inside felt pretty comfortable as he slipped his arm through the leather loop, and grabbed onto the handle that would allow him to activate the shield.

"This one's for you dad," Bruce said as he squeezed the shield, activating it.

"I still remember when your father first got that," Reinhardt said, "It was almost bare bones until he added the embellishments."

"It's amazing," Bruce said, "Never thought I'd be the one to wield it."

"He would be happy to see you wielding," Reinhardt said.

"I like to believe that he is happy," Bruce said, "Wherever he is."

"Well believe it," Reinhardt said as he handed Bruce a wooden sword.

In Bruce's hands it was a pretty good sized crusader-style broadsword, but when it was in Reinhardt's it was practically a short-sword.

"How's it feel," Reinhardt asked.

"Feels good," Bruce said as he swung it around in his hand.

"Time to test how much we have to train you," Reinhardt said as he picked up his own version of the sword and shield Bruce was using which was the same thing, except the shield was wooden, and both items were scaled up for Reinhardt's hands, "Let's go."

Bruce walked up to the training mat with Reinhardt, they each took fighting stances.

As Reinhardt swung, Bruce blocked the swing low, then came back in with an overhand chop.

Reinhardt blocked the swing, and went in high, Bruce blocked the chop and tried to stab at Reinhardt.

Reinhardt pinned the sword between his and the floor, and placed his hand on Bruce's shoulder, "Never overextend your reach," he said, "It makes you vulnerable and," he then gave Bruce a slight push on the shoulder, sending him to the back, "Off balanced."

Bruce pushed himself off the ground, and retrieved the sword, "So make sure to keep a good distance between you and your opponent," he asked.

"Yes," Reinhardt said as he pointed at Bruce with his sword, and held it out with his sword extended with a bent elbow, "It's always a good idea to keep at least this much distance between the two of you."

Bruce then came back at Reinhardt and tried to get him with an overhand chop only for Reinhardt to turn around, sweeping his legs out from underneath him.

Then as Bruce turned around, Reinhardt put the wooden sword to his chest, "Never lose your temper," he said, "It's safe to say we don't know how far your invulnerability reaches," he then pointed at the weak points on Bruce's body, "We can repair any damage to your heart, lungs, liver, intestines, and kidneys," he then tapped Bruce's throat with the tip of the sword, "But if your head were to come away from your neck, it's over."

"That's good advice," Bruce said.

"Here's some more," Reinhardt said as he walked up to Bruce, he moved his left foot forward, "Keep your left foot forward, and keep your hips facing forward: it keeps your weight balanced," he then stood next to Bruce, "When you swing your sword, step into the swing," he swung his sword downwards, changing his stance from keeping his left foot forward to moving his right foot forward, "But make sure to keep your sword forward so you don't drop your guard."

Bruce stepped into his swing, and swung in a downwards, diagonal motion, he then on instinct brought it up to his shoulder.

"How was that," Bruce asked.

"Pretty decent," Reinhardt said as he pointed out at the training yard, "Now… continue."

Bruce walked out to the training grounds, and picked up his father's shield, "Go time," he said.

"Wait," Reinhardt said as he walked up to Bruce carrying something, "You're going to need a sword," what he put down on the table was a large sword handle with what appeared to be a horse head pommel, "Pick it up."

As Bruce grasped the handle, a thirty-six-inch blade sprung from the guard, "Its light," he said.

"Indeed," Reinhardt said, "The blade is made from a combination of san-mai and Damascus forging using about two hundred and eighty layers of titanium, this blade is guaranteed to almost never break."

"How does it fold," Bruce asked.

"It works like an extending ruler," Reinhardt said, "When you grip it, the blade will spring forth, and it'll only work for you."

"Thanks, grandfather," Bruce said as he tapped Reinhardt on the shoulder with the side of the sword.

"Anytime," Reinhardt said before pointing at the training grounds, "Hop to it."

Bruce stepped down off of the platform and marched up to the beginning of the course.

 _Weight room_ …

Brigitte was working on the pull-down weight machine as she looked out to see Bruce outside in the yard attacking the training guards.

She let the weights flop upwards to lean forward, and wipe the sweat off her forehead.

She watched as Bruce activated his father's shield, and proceeded forward with his shield extended, allowing the blasts to be absorbed by the energy the shield was using.

As he got close enough to the bots, he slashed the first one twice across the chest, splitting him in four pieces.

He then bashed his shield into the second, lowered the top of the shield and ran his sword through the center of the bot's head, nearly splitting it in half.

As he removed his sword, he extended the shield, and watched as the bot exploded.

He then lowered the shield to test out the speed of his new legs as he ran up the stairs to the next level of the course to very quickly defend an incoming swing from one of the attack robots that tried to knock him onto his back.

He swung downwards, slicing the robot's arm off, then bunted the robot against the skull with the pommel of his sword, and sliced the robot's head in half, diagonally.

He then went into the building, completely disappearing from Brigitte's sight.

Mercy walked into the room, and over to the weight bench before seeing Brigitte looking out the window, she walked over to her and looked out to see Bruce practicing, "How's Bruce doing out there," she asked.

Brigitte jumped slightly, "Fuck," she cursed before looking back at Mercy, "For someone with wings you sure are sneaky."

"Sorry," Mercy said, "Why are you gawking at Bruce?"

"I'm not gawking," Brigitte exclaimed, "I'm observing."

"Ok," Mercy said as she walked over to the weight bench, and picked up two fifty-pound weights before walking back to the bench, and beginning her workout, "Whatever you say."

"What's that supposed to mean," Brigitte asked.

"Come on," Mercy said as she began lifting the weights, "Bruce is a fine young man. You're a fine young woman."

"I'm not attracted to him," Brigitte exclaimed, "He's my godfather's grandson! That would be like being attracted to my godbrother!"

Mercy chuckled, "I'm surprised to hear you make that analogy," she said.

"I'm an engineer," Brigitte said as she stood up, the yoga shorts she wore to workout in making a very subtle 'squeak' as she stood up, and walked over to take a drink from her water bottle, "It's natural that I would have a high I.Q."

"So does he," Mercy said, "When he was a child he had an I.Q. of 127 when he was a child."

"I had a 132," Brigitte said, "I was eighteen when I graduated college."

"Not to mention you're both in your early twenties," Mercy said.

"He's not really that handsome," Brigitte said.

"Oh come on," Mercy said, "If it weren't for the diamonds they shoved under his skin he'd look very appealing."

"Then maybe you should date him then," Brigitte said.

"I'm already dating someone," Mercy said.

"I know," Brigitte said, "Maybe you can have two special friends. Isn't polygamy accepted in Switzerland from case-to-case?"

"That differs," Mercy said as she switched arms, "I'm not a polygamist."

"And I'm not attracted to Bruce," Brigitte said as she walked out of the room.

"Honey," Mercy said, "Just because you can't see what's going on doesn't mean everyone else can't see what's going on!"

"Shut up," Brigitte called down the hall.

Brigitte walked back to her room whereupon changing into her overalls and 'I like to work out because I like to eat' shirt she looked over to see the picture her mother took of her and Bruce when they were kids.

Brigitte picked up the picture, and observed it: it was showed Bruce when he was two inches shorter than Brigitte who was holding his hand over Brigitte's head.

He asked her, "If I get taller than you I get to marry you, right?" To which she responded, "Sure thing, small fry."

Brigitte chuckled before realizing what she was doing, practically slammed the picture face-down on the table, and walked out of the room.

 _Sorry for the hiatus guys_ … _school & summer_…


End file.
